Many systems use engines to produce power for performing various tasks. Engines often produce power by combusting fuel in one or more combustion chambers and transferring energy generated by combusting the fuel to a power load. Many engines employ fuel injectors to supply fuel directly or indirectly to their combustion chambers. Various sources of heat may increase the temperatures of the fuel injectors of an engine when the engine is producing power. In some circumstances, the fuel injectors may reach undesirably high temperatures that may hinder operation of the fuel injectors or even damage the fuel injectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,037,778 to Goode et al. (“the '778 patent”) shows an engine with provisions for cooling a fuel injector. The engine of the '778 patent includes a cylinder block and a cylinder head enclosing a combustion chamber above a piston disposed in a cylinder of the cylinder block. The fuel injector of the '778 patent extends through a passage in the cylinder head and a discharge end of the fuel injector is disposed inside the combustion chamber. The engine of the '778 patent also includes a conduit for supplying cooling fluid. The outlet of the conduit is disposed adjacent and directed toward the discharge end of the fuel injector. A portion of the cylinder head separates the outlet of the conduit from the fuel injector.
Although the engine of the '778 patent includes a conduit for supplying cooling fluid to a portion of the cylinder head disposed adjacent the discharge end of the fuel injector, certain disadvantages persist. For example, because a portion of the cylinder head separates the outlet of the conduit from the fuel injector, heat from the fuel injector must travel through that portion of the cylinder head before it can be carried away by cooling fluid discharged from the conduit. Thus, the portion of the cylinder head separating the fuel injector from the cooling fluid discharged by the conduit may impede cooling of the fuel injector.
The engine and methods of the present disclosure solve one or more of the problems set forth above.